It's been six months since former President Barack Obama was seen cackling with President Donald Trump. The world was mixed with reactions, trying to figure out what was so funny considering the two men historically and publicly don't get along.
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After lip readers and Americans everywhere have theorized about the interaction... we finally have the truth.
As we previously reported, the two presidents sat next to each other during former President Jimmy Carter's funeral in January. The event occurred just days before Trump's second inauguration, as many Americans were still fuming over former Vice President Kamala Harris' November loss. But apparently, the topic didn't come up during Obama and Trump's conversation. Instead, they found middle ground with one of their shared hobbies.
A book written by three journalists revealed Trump invited his predecessor out for a game of golf. "He sat next to Barack Obama and invited him to play golf, enticing him with descriptions of Trump’s courses around the world," according to the book "2024: How Trump Retook the White House and the Democrats Lost America," according to Axios.
Authors Josh Dawsey, Tyler Pager and Isaac Arnsdorfn worked at the Washington Post during the 2024 presidential campaign. Their book details the inside scoop behind one of the most polarizing election cycles in history.
It's a well-known fact that both Obama and Trump enjoy the sport. The 47th president even spent a significant amount of his first 100 days in office golfing in his free time, NBC News reported. It's unclear if Obama ever took him up on the January offer, but Trump later said their interaction was surprisingly "friendly."
"I said, 'Boy, they look like two people that like each other.' And we probably do," Trump told NBC News after Carter's funeral. Traditionally, Trump would've been seated next to former First Lady Michelle Obama, but she declined the invitation to Carter's funeral citing "scheduling conflicts."
After the moment between the presidents went viral, lip readers flooded the internet with their best guesses on what the men chatted about. The New York Post spoke with forensic lip reader Jeremy Freeman, who claimed Trump told Obama the two needed to "find a quiet place" to discuss "a matter of importance." Freeman also said Trump told Obama, "I’ve pulled out of that. It’s the conditions. Can you imagine that?" This prompted the 44th President to laugh.
Trump and Obama have a troubling history, dating back to the 2008 election season when Trump spewed racist claims that Obama was not a U.S. citizen. The 44th president got his lick back after winning the election. And in 2011, he even roasted Trump during the annual White House Correspondents' Dinner, which the billionaire was clearly not a fan of. Many have speculated that night jump-started Trump's political career.
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